BLET SLB Chairmen (SLBC) who attended the Political Coordinators Meeting. Front row, from left: Brendan Sullivan (BLET Director of Political Affairs), Corey Martin (Illinois SLBC), Adam Hausman (Nebraska SLBC), and Vince Verna (BLET Vice President & NLR). Back row, from left: Ben Wright (Texas SLBC), Mike Walker (Iowa SLBC), and Richard Barnett (Louisiana SLBC). Present but not pictured: Herb Harris (District of Columbia) and Chuck Schulz (Wisconsin).
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Nearly 200 Teamsters gathered in Washington, D.C., last week for the annual Political Coordinators Meeting. About a dozen representatives from the BLET were in attendance. On September 17, BLET Vice President & National Legislative Representative Vince Verna addressed the group on behalf of the Teamsters Rail Conference regarding the progress made with the current Federal Railroad Administration on items such as crew size, in contrast with the prior administration. Speakers included Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien, bipartisan members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, and various members of the Teamsters’ political and legislative staff.
In a show of solidarity, BLET joined over 100 fellow Teamsters in a joint lobbying effort on Capitol Hill. The BLET delegation visited more than 20 legislative offices to educate legislators regarding Railroad Retirement funding as well as many other important rail safety and rail labor issues.